Arpaio won't commit to sweeps despite Scottsdale petition

by Edward Gately - Sept. 9, 2011 05:05 AMThe Arizona Republic

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio won't commit to conducting crime-suppression sweeps in downtown Scottsdale's entertainment district, despite receiving more than 1,000 signatures from area residents and merchants urging him to take action.

Arpaio accepted the signatures from Bill Crawford, president of the Association to Preserve Downtown Scottsdale's Quality of Life. The association has been urging the sheriff to step in and do something about what they say is ongoing, rampant illegal activity associated with patrons of the entertainment district.

In late July, Crawford announced the association was collecting the signatures and would have at least 1,000 by Labor Day. At that time, Arpaio said if he received 1,000 signatures, "you're going to see the sheriff, his posse and his deputies in Scottsdale."

On Thursday, Arpaio said he wants to give the city more time to address the problems. Crawford said the city has made progress since the sheriff first addressed his group in early June.

"I talked to Mayor Jim Lane . . . he's concerned and he's going to try to do everything he can to alleviate the problem that we have in this area," Arpaio said. "He promised me he would do that, and I'm going to give him a little chance to get that done."

Lane said the city is working with bar owners and other stakeholders to address seven issues, and that "we're working through and are making progress on all of them."

"The sheriff understands exactly what the situation is with regard to downtown and he knows that it's being worked on," he said.

If little progress is made, Arpaio said he's "going to have to once again re-evaluate" the situation.

"I know that Tempe doesn't seem to have many problems," he said. "They don't seem to have any problem enforcing the law in Tempe."

The association's petition said the Scottsdale Police Department has failed to enforce laws such as "consumption of alcohol in parked cars in residential neighborhoods and on public streets, littering of alcoholic beverage containers on private property and public streets, public intoxication, public urination, disorderly conduct, assault, littering, loitering, graffiti, vehicle and property theft, vandalism and break-ins."

Arpaio said if he does conduct a sweep in Scottsdale, it's "no reflection" on the Police Department. He also said a sweep would include other areas of Scottsdale and not just the entertainment district.

"If I decide to come here, I'm not wasting my time," he said. "Anybody who violates the law on my crime suppression is zero tolerance, they're put in handcuffs and they go directly to jail. I don't give tickets out. That's my policy, and I'm not changing my policy for any city. Let's hope I don't have to do that."

Lane said he's not sure a crime-suppression sweep in the downtown area is necessary.

"I think Scottsdale Police Department has things well in hand," he said.

Arpaio doesn't know what it will take to persuade him to conduct sweeps.

"I have to use my gut, I do have gut feelings," he said. "I just can't say, 'Tomorrow night we're coming in with the tank and the machine gun, and everything else.' I do know another crime suppression I'll be doing in a certain big city . . . This one, I'm a little in flux. I don't know yet."

Villa Monterey resident Beverly Pettit, who gathered signatures, said she and others are frustrated with trying to get the city to stop the problems tied to the entertainment district.

"It's pulling down our city and we hate to see that happen," she said. "We want to stop it before it gets out of hand and it is out of hand."

Crawford said he's seeing the city "do what they absolutely have to do and they're forced to do it," and that Arpaio's appearances are helping.

"I have compassion for what the sheriff is going through because this is a political minefield, and I think he is trying to be a diplomat, and just his presence is very effective," he said. "If he needs to come in, he'll come in."

Todd Grobstein, vice chairman of the Scottsdale Downtown and Entertainment District Association, which includes the area's bar and restaurant owners, issued a statement stressing progress has been made to address residents' and merchants' concerns.

"Companies and small businesses are moving in, and jobs are being created," he said. "That's more important than ever in these tough economic times."